Markets await Chinese product export quotas

The normal quarterly uncertainty is more pronounced than usual, and the effect on the market may be delayed

China’s latest round of quotas for refined fuel exports has been beset by uncertainty over size and duration. The impacts on the global crude and products markets are thus unlikely to be felt until November at the earliest, once details are confirmed. Industry speculation intensified towards the end of September—just before China started a week-long public holiday—that Beijing had issued new quotas to Chinese refiners for exports of petrol, diesel and jet fuel. The quotas allow Chinese authorities to manage domestic supply and demand balances closely, by deciding how much the refiners can ship overseas. Most of allotted volumes go to the three NOCs—CNPC, Sinopec and Cnooc—along with state-ow